Death Scream

Loosely based upon the appalling Kitty Genovese murder in 1964, wherein young Kitty was slain in front of her Queens apartment building as 38 onlookers refused involvement, this made for television movie, originally a back door pilot for ABC that failed to achieve high enough ratings deemed necessary for further production, shifts the action to Brooklyn and lowers the crime witness count to 15, a more manageable number for a film in which primary emphasis is placed upon casting of "guest stars" in lieu of attempting a measured approach into socio-cultural connotations of the tragedy. Originally titled HOMICIDE, and a year later THE WOMAN WHO CRIED MURDER for its second television showing, this work was heavily publicized but its meretricious courting of an audience ratings advantage brought negative reaction from most viewers, especially those still mindful of the original dreadful crime, and it quickly disappeared from distribution lists, effectively excising an initial top billing appearance for Raul Julia, as a New York City homicide detective. From among the celebrity packed cast emerge noteworthy cameo performances, including those of Art Carney, Tina Louise, Cloris Leachman, and Lucie Arnaz who chose a plot climactic role rather than one offered her that involved more screen time, and there is a polished turn from 12 year old Helen Hunt, as well as a poor one from Diahann Carroll, with solid acting from Julia and, as his detective partner, John P. Ryan. Breezily generic dialogue is composed for the detectives in a script that is full of bromides, as is the jazz-flavoured score. The film is capably directed, but the shade of Kitty Genovese trivializes this effort, baring its failure to explore a crucial event in modern U.S. urban history.

A murder is committed in front of witnesses and none would lift a hand to help the victim. Fearful of becoming involved, they would give no assistance to the police in their investigation. Although the authorities launched a large manhunt for the criminal, he continued his crime spree terrorizing the entire neighborhood. Good police drama with an exciting but somewhat unbelievable ending.

No-frills crime-drama debuted in 1975 on The CBS Friday Night Movie, one filled with familiar television faces of the time (Ed Asner and Cloris Leachman as mismatched marrieds, Art Carney and Nancy Walker as an elderly couple, Diahann Carroll as an attempted suicide, Tina Louise as a lesbian dental assistant, etc). Loosely based on the Kitty Genovese crime wherein a woman was attacked in front of her apartment building, screaming for half an hour while fighting off her attacker but not getting any help from her neighbors. Raul Julia and John P. Ryan are the investigators, and Julia in particular exudes a lot of easy charm and charisma in this role (his young daughter, played by none other than Helen Hunt, has a lovely scene with him singing in the car). This may have been a proposed pilot for a TV series (the tag at the end suggests it); if so, it's a good one, with tight pacing and gripping camera-work. Surprises in the cast: Hunt (looking like a pint-sized hippie), Sally Kirkland as a flirty waitress, Lucie Arnaz as a victim who survives, Tony Dow (from "Leave It To Beaver") as a married man who wants to go to jail, and Kate Jackson in a brief cameo as a woman walking her dog. Too bad there isn't more of Jackson, she's very appealing and works well with Raul Julia. Except for the drab decor, the movie doesn't date too badly and has good moments. Fans of TV shows from the 1970s will certainly be intrigued.

This film was very loosely based on the Kitty Genovese case in which a young woman was murdered in front of several people and none of them bothered to call the police. The beginning is pretty interesting as the police go from door to door to try to find out what happened from the various residents of the neighborhood where the killing happened (many of whom were appearing on various television shows at that time including Ed Asner, Cloris Leachman and Nancy Walker). This starts out as an interesting study of human nature but soon it becomes just another cop drama as the killer starts attacking various women. One woman, who happens to be pregnant, is almost raped and another woman is raped and killed in the elevator of her apartment building. Too bad, though. It had the potential of becoming an above average "movie of the week".

This film was one of the typical seventies crisis-of-the-week type dramas. However, I have always suspected it was at least loosely based on the infamous murder of Catherine (Kitty) Genovese, which occurred in March 1964 in Queens, New York. Ms. Genovese was murdered in an almost identical fashion to the victim in this film -- attacked in the courtyard of her apartment building in Kew Gardens, screaming in vain for help while "thirty-eight witnesses" ignored her. Since this movie was filmed a scant decade or so after the actual case, perhaps there hadn't been sufficient time for reflection on the proper way to tell the story for the ages; perhaps Ms. Genovese's family refused to allow any association; or perhaps the filmmakers were just looking for a quick buck.

What they did to "spice up" the story was to add into the plotline the fact that the murder victim, "Jenny," was a lesbian; that her former girlfriend (played by Tina Louise -- imagine "the movie star" chasing Mary Ann all over Gilligan's island with perverse intentions! say it ain't so! LOL) has a history of violent and threatening behavior; and that among the neighbors who heard Jenny's dying screams are an immigrant couple from an unspecified Eastern European country who fear deportation; a sleazy housewife played by Cloris Leachman who is carrying on an affair behind her husband's back; and a married couple with Nancy Walker playing the wife, apparently having gotten lost on the way to the Bounty commercial shoot. Also look for a very young Helen Hunt, playing hotshot detective Raul Julia's daughter.

It was the seventies; what can I say?